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Confocal microscopy is an essential imaging tool for biological systems, insolid-state physics and nano-photonics. Using confocal microscopes allowsperforming resonant fluorescence experiments, where the emitted light has thesame wavelength as the excitation laser. Theses challenging experiments arecarried out under linear cross-polarization conditions, rejecting laser lightfrom the detector. In this work we uncover the physical mechanisms that are atthe origin of the yet unexplained high polarization rejection ratio which makesthese measurements possible. We show in both experiment and theory that the useof a reflecting surface (i.e. the beam-splitter and mirrors) placed between thepolarizer and analyzer in combination with a confocal arrangement explains thegiant cross-polarization extinction ratio of 10^8 and beyond. We map the modaltransformation of the polarized optical Gaussian beam. We find an intensity'hole' in the reflected beam under cross-polarization conditions. We interpretthis as a manifestation of the Imbert-Fedorov effect, which deviates the beamdepending on its polarization helicity. This implies that this topologicaleffect is amplified here from the usually observed nanometer to the micrometerscale due to our cross-polarization dark field methods. We confirm theseexperimental findings for a large variety of commercially available mirrors andpolarization components, allowing their practical implementation in manyexperiments.

The physical origins of extreme cross-polarization extinction in confocal microscopy